casual cooking and living

Category Archives: seafood

Here is a delicious, quick and oh yes, healthy meal – Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Red Cabbage Slaw. It’s great to serve family style for ease. It also makes a great meal for guests since it can be prepared quickly and most of it in advance. This is one of my favorite go to summer dishes, because it’s light , easy and cool but of course it’s great all year round !

In a medium bowl add the lime juice, orange juice, olive oil and sugar. Whisk together until sugar is dissolved. Add the red cabbage to the bowl and mix until cabbage is coated with the dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit in the refrigerator covered for approximately 4 hours before serving.

To make the Avocado Sauce

In a small food processor or blender add the avocado, lime juice, sour cream and salt. Blend until smooth. Place in a covered container and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To make the Spicy Shrimp Taco

Heat a grill pan until hot, add the shrimp and grill approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side or until the shrimp turn opaque. Warm soft tortillas in the microwave for a minute. To serve, place the shrimp, slaw, avocado sauce along with garnishes of lime, cilantro and jalapeno on platters and allow guests to make their own tacos.

Here is what’s cooking this weekend by the bay and I’m keeping it yellow, hopefully as yellow as the sun brightly shining in the sky.

To kick off my weekend of sunshine eating, I’m making my Cornmeal and Sweet Corn Pancakes. A delicious start to any weekend, using some farm fresh yellow corn or use your leftover corn from the night before mixed with some corn meal .

Dinner is a nice bowl of Fresh Corn with ShrimpGrits, it doesn’t get better than a bowl creamy grits made with a corn broth, cooked along with shrimp and bacon and splashed with lemon juice to brighten the flavor. Served on the side a nice plate of yellow tomatoes, simply drizzled with a good olive oil and sprinkled with coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Perfection.

Dessert is a lovely light and lemony pudding using my recipe for Lemon Posset

A recipe to delight – the creamiest of grits, topped with sweet succulent shrimp tossed among red pepper and onion slices with some heat from the butter and to cut through that richness some pickled celery. Inspired by one of the best meals in Nashville and adapted by this northern girl , who can’t find okra so easily out of season but celery is a good fill in and using some sriracha for heat since it’s a condiment of the moment to add the right amount of heat to the dish. Enjoy.

Bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from heat and add garlic, mustard seed, peppercorns, chili flakes. Place the celery pieces in a large bowl (preferably glass or ceramic) and pour the vinegar mixture over it. Stir to combine spices. Make sure all the pieces are submerged in the brine. Allow to cool completely (at least a couple hours) before serving. If you would like to make longer stalks into pickles, you can cut them to the length of the tallest wide-mouthed Mason jar you have. Stand them upright in the jar and pour the brine over them. Cover tightly. As the pickles cool, you may have to shake the jar (carefully!) to distribute the spices and brine

Heat all the ingredients except the grits and cheese in a pan on the stove. Turn the heat to low and then add the grits. Stir frequently until soft, about 30 minutes, then add the cheese.

To make the hot butter

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.

To prepare the shrimp and assemble dish

In large saute pan, heat the oil and add the bell peppers and onions. Saute until starts to soften. Add shrimp and cook 1/2 way, add the butter and continue to cook until shrimp is done. The shrimp should be pink and no longer translucent. Serve over grits and garnish with pickled celery.

Winter means comfort food. My comfort food is unusual ……fried shrimp. As a child this was hands down my favorite food. Whenever we went to a restaurant I ordered fried shrimp. I considered myself a young connoisseur of sorts, comparing my fried shrimp food experiences from place to place. So no surprise here, that I take my version of fried shrimp seriously. I like the fried breading to be slightly and crispy. This requires very hot oil to fry the shrimp quickly without over cooking the interior. To that end I just received for Christmas a deep fryer, but without s deep fryer I was always able to accomplish the right results in a frying pan. All I can add is that you will love discovering this comfort food recipe.

From by the bay, wishing you deep fried shrimp food memories!

Maryann

Homemade Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup good quality mayonnaise

2 tablespoons chopped capers

1/2 cup chopped cornichons or pickles

dash of hot sauce

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

In a small mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill before serving to let the flavors combine together.

Breaded Fried Shrimp

1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed

1 cup flour

2 eggs lightly beatened

2 cups plain bread crumbs

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

canola oil for frying

Directions

Use paper towels to pat the shrimp dry. Gather three shallow dishes. I like to use pie pans. In one pan, add flour, salt and pepper and combine. In another pan add the eggs and beat lightly. In the third pan add bread crumbs. Dip each shrimp in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Use your fingers to press the bread crumbs onto each piece of shrimp. Place breaded shrimp on a baking sheet. Heat about two inches of canola in a deep pot to around 350 degrees or use a deep fryer according to instructions. Deep-fry the shrimp in batches, frying about 6 shrimp at a time. The shrimp will cook very quickly! When they are golden brown, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pan, and transfer them to a paper towel lined plate. Continue cooking the shrimp in batches until all shrimp are fried and golden brown. Serve with lemon slices and homemade tartar sauce.

This dish highlights the bold flavor of broccoli rabe with it’s nutty and distinctive bitter taste, that is much loved in southern italian cooking. I love broccoli rabe not only for the taste , but also that it’s packed with loads of vitamin C and A as well as potassium, while being low in calories. So this delicious and light dish features an easy pesto , grilled shrimp and bread kicked up with some red chili flakes for a little heat. It’s perfect light, delicious and vibrant colored meal!

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well-salted ice water. Cook the broccoli rabe in the boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes and then immediately plunge in the salted ice water. This will prevent the broccoli rabe from being overcooked and will set the lovely green color.

Drain the broccoli rabe and squeeze out any excess water. Pull out about 1/2 cup of the broccoli rabe, especially the florets and set aside. Place the remaining broccoli rabe ( approximately 1 cup) in the bowl of a food processor and puree until it is a coarse paste. Add 1/2 cup olive oil, almonds, lemon zest, lemon juice and parmigiano and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning salt and pepper to taste. Serve room temperature.

In a small bowl add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, minced garlic and red chili flakes and mix. Cut the ciabatta bread length-wise in half and brush the inside with the olive oil mixture.

Prepare grill . Remove shrimp from marinade and cook until the shrimp turns pink, about 1 1/2 minute on each side depending on the heat of the grill. Remove shrimp and place bread on the grill , cut side with olive oil past down and grill until toasted brown. Remove from grill.

To serve dish add shrimp , cover with broccoli rabe pesto and cut bread into slices arranging around the shrimp and pesto. Drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.

Note: This could also be make on stove top in a grill pan. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil to cook shrimp on both sides until pink and then grill bread face down in pan until toasted.

Tip: When buying broccoli rabe look for bright green and crisp leaves. Never buy with any yellow leaves.

I was craving a lobster roll, but that takes money, time and some real commitment. This is the lazy girl’s lobster roll, but without compromising taste! The shrimp are easy to make and if you are even more lazy and sometimes I am , I buy the shrimp already cooked, in which case you are whipping up this shrimp roll in minutes……..held back by how fast you can crisp up those slices of bacon!! The roll has a slight kick from the hot sauce the a fresh tangy taste from the lemon juice. This is a perfect quick summer dinner especially on those hot evenings when you don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen or at the grill!

In a stockpot add about 2 quarts water salt and bay leave. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Strain removing bay leave and cool shrimp under cold running water to stop from cooking. When shrimp are completely cool chop and place in bowl along with 1/2 of the chopped scallions. In a small bowl add mayonnaise, lemon juice, hot sauce, mustard and pepper. Whisk together and pour over the shrimp. Fold sauce and shrimp together. To assemble sandwich open the bun and add 1 slice lettuce, 1/4 chopped tomato, 1/4 shrimp salad. Repeat for remaining shrimp rolls. Garnish each roll with remaining scallions and chopped crispy bacon. Serve immediately.

Each summer our family would visit my mother’s sister Julia and her family at the Jersey shore. It was a big treat for all of us. We would spend our time running around outdoors and then come in to a wonderful meal. What better summer seaside meal then crabcakes. My aunt served them with tartar sauce and lemon. So when my mom finally got around to getting the recipe, she named the crabcake as Julia’s Crabcakes (best ever made). This is no exageration. I didn’t touch my aun’t recipe for the crabcakes. How can you improve on the best ever made? I did add some cilantro mayonnaise and placed on a bed of sauté red peppers with fresh corn, Yum!

From by the bay wishing you the best ever made food memories!
Maryann

Julia’s Crabcakes with Cilantro Mayonnaise

Serves 4

1 lb lump crabmeat, pick for cartilage

2 eggs beaten

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

¼ teaspoon Worchester sauce

½ cup bread crumbs

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Juice of ½ a lime

½ teaspoon black pepper

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cilantro leaves to garnish

Directions

It’s very important that the lump crabmeat is very well picked over for any cartilage. Add to a bowl. In a small sauté pan use 1 tablespoon of butter and sauté the onion and pepper until very soft. Add to the crabmeat. Add the remaining ingredients except butter into the bowl. Form 8 crabcakes patties. Place on a tray and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge for an hour. Using a large skillet, melt butter and sauté cakes until golden brown. Place on a bed of the red pepper and sweet corn sauté, add a little cilantro mayonnaise to the top of each cake and a few cilantro leaves. Serve remaining cilantro mayonnaise to the side.

Cilantro Mayonnaise

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic minced

2 tablespoons water

6 oz cilantro leaves

1 cup store bought mayonnaise

Juice of 2 limes

Zest of 1 lime

5 drops Tabasco

Directions

In a food processor combine olive oil, garlic and water. Add cilantro and puree. Add mayonnaise, Tabasco lime juice and zest and blend again. Remove and place in glass jar cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with crabcakes.

Last weekend I had guests out from the city visiting by the bay. So when I was thinking about what to serve my friends so that they could really experience the waterside, of course lobster came to mind, the quintessential waterside dish. I love lobster rolls and I make it many different ways. Sometimes I just want the simplicity of fresh lobster meat , a toasted roll and melted butter and it’s delicious. This weekend I wanted to kick up the ingredients for my lobster salad with Old Bay Seasoning to add warmth to the taste of cool mayonnaise, fresh herbs such as parsley and the slightly licorice flavor of tarragon and a touch of fresh lemon juice to brighten all the flavors. My friends were taking the train from Penn Station, I told them to come early and I would pick them up in Port Washington and we would head over to the pier to buy some fresh lobsters. Once by the bay, I steamed the lobsters and made my salad. After a walk to the beach, we came back to have a terrific lunch of lobster rolls on the deck. What a perfect day!

I got up early the other morning and when straight to the farm stand. I just love this time of year, especially the corn. I found some beautiful ears of butter and sugar corn which is a mix of yellow and white kernels. I wanted the corn to be the star of my dinner that night so I decided to make shrimp and grits. In order to have the delicious corn taste enhance each part of the dish, I shucked the corn to mix into the dish at the end and also make a corn stock that I used to make the sauce for the shrimp as well as to cook the grits. I finished the dish off with some fresh basil from my garden. The results were terrific. Don’t be daunted by the steps, they are all easy and go quickly, so definitely try it out.

From by the bay wishing you butter and sugar food memories!

Maryann

Tip: when shucking the corn, I place a large bowl in the skin and shuck the corn instead the

In a stock pot add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Remove the cobs from the stock and discard. Place remaining stock and corn into food processor and puree. Strain and keep stock to the side. You will have about 3 1/2 cups of stock. If you have less use less stock in the grits and add more water.

Note: This can be done in advance, earlier in the day.

Ingredients for grits

1 cup stone grounded grits

2 cups corn stock

2 cups water

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 pound unsalted butter

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons corn stock or olive oil optional

Directions for grits

In a large sauce pan 4 cups of liquid in total – add stock, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add grits and cook uncovered for about 20 to 25 minutes until liquid is absorbed into the grits, stirring occasionally so grits don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and add the butter and cheese, stirring well. Optional : Right before serving add 2 tablespoons of the corn stock or olive oil to loosen the grits.

Ingredients for shrimp

2 pounds shrimp cleaned and deveined

4 ounces thick cut bacon, chopped into cubes

1 1/2 cups fresh uncooked corn kernels

1 garlic clove minced

2 tablespoons green onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups corn stock

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons basil, chopped

Directions for shrimp

Place a large saute pan on medium heat and add the bacon and cook until crisp. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Set aside. In the same pan saute the shrimp until they turn pink, cooking on both sides. Do not over crowd the pan. Remove the shrimp and set aside. Leave about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat and add the garlic, green onion and corn. Saute for about 2 minutes until softened, then add the corn stock and lemon juice bring to a boil and add the shrimp and bacon, mix well and remove from the heat. Serve on top of the grits and top with chopped basil.

Growing up if you asked me my favorite food , there was only one answer: Shrimp – lots of it fried. i considered myself a fried shrimp connoisseur in those days. Although, i have really expanded my food horizons, shrimp is still one of my favorite foods and I am always looking for new ways to prepare them. I first tried Harissa, a spicy paste, on a buying trip to Paris and I have enjoyed experimenting with it as an ingredient ever since. You can find Harissa as a paste in either a tube or can from food specialty stores. It is from North Africa and it is made primarily of chili peppers and garlic along with cumin and coriander. It’s a great quick way to add heat to a dish. My favorite use is in this shrimp dish. The Harissa mayonnaise is also a great complement to potato fries, with grilled meats or to use on sandwiches.

Place all ingredients into a sealed plastic bag and marinate for at least 2 hours. Soak wooden skewers in water for one hour. Heat outdoor grill or grill pan, skewer shrimp and grill shrimp approximately 3-4 minutes per side until pink. Serve with Harissa mayonnaise.

Harissa Mayonnaise

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Harissa Paste

1 tablespoon Ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Place all ingredients in a bow, and mix well. Serve with grilled shrimp